Indian stocks advanced in Monday’s trade, 21 September, as sustained losses prompted value buying in select counters, while oil-sensitive stocks recovered following a drop in crude prices, although underlying geopolitical tensions capped the upside
Although the frontline indices opened the session with modest losses, they quickly gained momentum as buying emerged in heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ONGC, and Reliance Industries, leading to strong gains. The positive close brought much-needed optimism to Dalal Street as the markets remained lower for six consecutive weeks.
Indian stock market today
The Nifty closed 0.29% higher at 23,414, while the Sensex rallied 0.81% to 74,894. The broader markets, however, remained mixed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index falling 0.23%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index remained largely unchanged from Friday’s close.
Sectoral performance was mixed, with pharma, realty, FMCG, consumer durables, and oil and gas stocks closing with gains ranging from 0.53% to 1.27%. Among the losers, metal and PSU bank stocks were the top laggards.
Meanwhile, losses in Tata Group stocks deepened during the session, with Tata Capital, Tata Power, Tata Investment Corporation, and other group stocks closing in the red. The decline came as the dispute between Tata Trusts and Tata Sons over the leadership and future structure of the conglomerate escalated, with investors closely watching the possibility of legal proceedings and renewed uncertainty around Tata Sons’ proposed listing.
Turning to the commodity market, crude oil prices fell more than 2% at their day’s low as vessel traffic and energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz reportedly picked up. However, the strait remained largely closed, while uncertainty persisted over US-Iran tensions, AP reported.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthis, along with Saudi Arabia’s closure of a key oil pipeline, also continued to add pressure to global oil supplies. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 2.1% to $101.65 per barrel. It was trading at roughly $72 a barrel in late February, before the start of the war in Iran.
